In modern hearing aid design it has become customary for BTE hearing aids to provide a printed circuit board (PCB) running horizontally along the length axis and at the back end of the hearing aid this PCB extends on top of and along a battery and a receiver housing. It is further desired to arrange a switching device which is manually operable by finger touch in this area. Preferably such a switching device will have to control the position of electrical switches mounted onto the PCB in this area, where very little space is available and at the same time the switching device should not cause any increase in the size of the hearing aid casing. The invention provides a switching device, which can be built into the casing of a hearing aid and provide fail-safe multiposition switching which both allows tactile feedback to the user, who may feel the position of the switch and at the same time also a visible feedback is provided, such that caregivers may ascertain the position of the switch by visual inspection.